Jail sergeant charged in computer search

Anthony Patricelli arrested for second time in four months

Updated 9:54 pm, Friday, June 7, 2013

TIMES UNION STAFF PHOTO WILL WALDRON -- Richard J. McNally Jr., (D) candidate for Rensselaer County district attorney, meets with the Times Union editorial board, Wednesday October 10, 2007.

TIMES UNION STAFF PHOTO WILL WALDRON -- Richard J. McNally Jr., (D) candidate for Rensselaer County district attorney, meets with the Times Union editorial board, Wednesday October 10, 2007.

Photo: WW

Jail sergeant charged in computer search

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Troy

A Rensselaer County jail sergeant was arrested for the second time in four months on Friday when he was charged with improperly using a law enforcement database to check the criminal history of a Florida man acquainted with his ex-girlfriend.

The jail officer, Anthony Patricelli, 46, is accused of instructing a subordinate officer, Wendy Veiga, to run the man's criminal history in February. Patricelli also asked Veiga to file an official document indicating the background check was needed to check the background of a new inmate, which was false, according to the charges.

Last month, Sheriff Jack Mahar said the allegations were being handled internally as a "training issue" and that Patricelli would not face discipline or criminal charges. But District Attorney Richard McNally, who learned about the allegations around the time details were first published by the Times Union, said he launched a criminal investigation a couple of weeks ago.

The charges are based, in part, on sworn statements that Veiga and Patricelli both gave to sheriff's investigators.

"We actually had to subpoena the records when we found out they had conducted a criminal investigation," McNally said. "When we asked for that information we were instructed to issue a subpoena, which we did."

Mahar could not be reached for comment.

The Florida man whose criminal history was accessed, Peter Colantonio, 45, said in a recent interview that he filed a complaint with the district attorney's office last month after details of the incident were published in a newspaper. Colantonio said he grew up in Troy and went to high school with Patricelli.

"Back in 1992 I was in the jail and he was working there," Colantonio said. "So he knew I had a past. ... Now a lot of people know about my history and things they shouldn't know."

Patricelli surrendered Friday afternoon at Troy City Court with his attorney, Joseph Ahearn. He was charged with computer trespass and falsifying government records, both felonies, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor. City Court Judge Chris Maier ordered Patricelli released without bail with a condition that he surrender his departmental weapons to investigators.

"I'm very troubled and concerned that, at least at this time, it appears that Mr. Patricelli's statement to internal affairs was used in a criminal investigation which as we all know is improper," Ahearn said. Under state law, a police officer may be compelled to answer questions during an internal investigation but those statements are not generally admissable in any criminal proceedings.

McNally said he does not believe the manner in which the statements were taken by sheriff's investigators will be an issue. The criminal charges were filed by a district attorney's investigator, Brian Rossiter, rather than by a police agency.

The state Department of Criminal Justice Services maintains a vast database — eJusticeNY — that's used by police agencies, including jails, to run criminal background checks. State regulations prohibit accessing the information for personal or non-law enforcement purposes. The DCJS routinely audits police agencies for compliance with the rules.

The charges filed against Patricelli on Friday come four months after he was charged by State Police with threatening in a telephone call to break the jaw of a jail officer, John Gorman, who is the brother of Patricelli's ex-girlfriend, Kim Gorman. Patricelli and Kim Gorman have a child together but are not married. That case, in which Patricelli is charged with misdemeanor aggravated harassment, is pending in Schagticoke.

The harassment case also surfaced in a lawsuit filed in March by the former chief of corrections at Rensselaer County jail, Ruth Vibert, who alleged she was fired by the sheriff for refusing to shred documents related to Gorman's workplace-violence complaints against Patricelli. Mahar denied Vibert's allegations and said she was terminated because she didn't meet the minimum educational requirements for the job.

Patricelli was not suspended as a result of the harassment allegations filed by Gorman. Ahearn, who is Patricelli's attorney, said he expects that Patricelli would be suspended as a result of the felony charges filed Friday.